LUCERNE – An aging motel on the lakeshore that’s been the focus of local attention due to its dilapidated condition came down on Monday.
The Lucerne Motel, located at 6339 E. Highway 20, was demolished after the Affinito family, which owns it and the neighboring Lake Sands Resort at 6335 E. Highway 20, agreed to take the buildings down.
The Board of Supervisors had told the Affinitos in December that if they didn’t take action to remove the structures, the county would. During a December board discussion county staff reported the vacant buildings were a draw for rats.
Fort Bragg resident Robert Affinito, the son of owner Dominic Affinito, worked with the county to remove the buildings. He pulled the initial demolition permits in January.
Taking down the Lucerne Motel originally was to have been completed by Feb. 1, with the Lake Sands to follow a month later, depending on weather.
Before knocking down the motel Affinito worked on removing the buildings’ piers and badly damaged sea wall. The Lake Sands demolition is the last part of the removal, according to a county Code Enforcement Division timeline.
Affinito told Lake County News in an interview earlier this year that he’s working with Choice Hotels International on a 50- to 60-unit Mainstay Suites, which is an extended stay hotel with studio and one-bedroom suites with fully equipped kitchens.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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